Founder/Creator | Floating Yogi + SUP Racer
Tantra Yogi, Writer, Speaker, Master WPA Certified SUP Instructor, Master SUP Yogi & Teacher Trainer, Kids Yoga, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Trained, Environmental and Digital Activist, Communications & Public Relations Consultant for the Non-Profit Sector & Mom of 2
My story begins at the mercy of the ocean. Sometime during my mother's early pregnancy, unable to make a decision and in a moment of desperation, she sat on the shore and asked for a sign. If the third wave lapped at her feet, she would keep the baby. The third wave did.
And, just like that, the ocean gave me life.
She named me Janaina, after the Goddess of the Ocean. Born and raised in a city hundreds of miles from the coast in my native Brazil, as a child, I dreamed of mermaids, the waves, the beach, and the sand. The first time my feet touched the ocean, a love affair began.
I started off walking on water. As a self-taught professional stand up paddle boarder, since 2009, I've built a presence on the water that has revolutionized how the cities of New York and Philadelphia view its rivers. A World Paddle Association (WPA) Master Certified Instructor, I have paddled and instructed on dozens of bodies of water in NJ, the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers in Philadelphia, the Hudson River in Manhattan, Long Island, Thousand Islands, California, Canada, and several islands in the Caribbean.
Then it became my spiritual practice. Drawing on my love of the water, as well as yoga and meditation, Floating Yoga held huge appeal for me. It enhanced my meditative practice, strengthened my core, improved my balance, on and off the water, and allowed me to spend time communing with nature in a fresh, engaging way.
Then it became my home. Being gifted a 30' sailboat marked the start of the realization of my dream of a gypsy life. Synchronistically, her name was Karma.
Finally, it became my purpose. As a clean water activist, organizing hundreds of cleanups of the waterways and coastal shorelines was a service I felt compelled to offer for something which brought me life, friendship, joy, expansive personal growth, and a platform for the realization of all of my dreams.
Freediving was a natural progression for me ~ as I spent more time floating on the surface, the depths began calling to me louder and louder.
On September 2018, I began my "journey to the deep". Starting at a depth of 5 meters, I am currently pursuing my goal of freediving to 30 meters.
Since experiencing the power of underwater movement through my freediving practice, my on-land movement practice has evolved into a luscious, and liquid, underwater-inspired flow. I call it Fluid Movement and invite you to dive in.
Things that make my heart sing: intimacy, fluid movement, sailing, freediving, paddleboarding, surfing, yoga, meditation, spontaneous adventures, writing, making music, traveling, learning and being of service.
I'd love to get to know you. Connect with me.
